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sfa3ur1: MAME ROM Information.

25 fighters mix it up to have a shot at Shin Bison in the height of his power! Featuring 3 fighting styles for each character.

- TECHNICAL -

Capcom Play System II hardware (CPS II)

Game ID : CP-S II No. 29

Main CPU : 68000 (@ 11.8 Mhz), Z80 (@ 8 Mhz)

Sound Chips : Q-Sound (@ 4 Mhz)

Players : 2

Control : 8-way joystick

Buttons : 6

= > [1] LP, [2] MP, [3] HP

= > [4] LK, [5] MK, [6] HK

- TRIVIA -

Released in June 1998.

This game is known as "Street Fighter Zero 3 [CP-S II No. 29]" in Japan and southeast Asia, and as Street Fighter Alpha 3 in all other locations.

The Hispanic and Brazil versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3 support a card (possibly meaning 'ticket') dispenser, and when the game's options in test mode have the dispenser turned on, when there's no dispenser installed on the machine, a 'NO CARD' message will appear during the attract mode, and when you're playing the game.

Guy, Cody, Sodom and Rolento are from Capcom's "Final Fight". Guy and Cody as selectable characters, Sodom as the second boss and Rolento as the fourth boss in "Final Fight". "Final Fight" boss 'Edi E' makes appearances in some of Cody's finishing poses.

The reason for Mike Haggar's (the third selectable character in "Final Fight") non-appearance in Street Fighter was that he was too similar to Zangief. Furthermore, it could be because during the "Street Fighter Alpha" storyline, Mike Haggar was assumed to be the mayor of Metro City (a part of New York) at the time.

In Guy's stage there is a group from Final Fight cheering Guy on. They consist of : Mike Haggar, Andorre Jr., Axl and poison. Also in the background against one of the buildings there is a advert for a Megaman Drink just under the Capcom Logo.

Karin Kanzuki is the first Street Fighter to have originated from a comic book (actually, a manga). She first appeared in a girls' manga that had Sakura Kasugano as the main character.

The three ISMs have some symbolic meaning :

* X represents "Super Street Fighter II Turbo". That is, this ISM matches closely to the gameplay style found therein. The X actually comes from the Japanese version's title, "Super Street Fighter II X - Grand Master Challenge". There are, however, a few differences between X-ISM in Alpha 3 and "Super Street Fighter II Turbo", mainly because of the Alpha 3 game engine.

* A represents Alpha. That is, it is closest to the style of the previous Alpha games.

* V stands for Variable, as in 'Variable Combination', meaning 'Custom Combo'. This merely represents how you can use your super bar.

Attack of the Bison Dolls : Each Bison doll is named after a month of the year in the language of their supposed origin. It is said that they wield different tools, but generally share the same style. It is said that they generally worked as a team.

1) Enero (January) from Spain uses a microphone.

2) Fevrier (February) from France uses a gun.

3) Marz (March) from Germany uses a laptop and dyes her hair. Enero and Marz are the information and recon members of the team.

4) Aprile (April) from Italy is the medical member of the team. At the beginning of SFA3, Aprile's brother had asked Rose to find her whereabouts.

5) Satsuki (May) is Japanese and wields a sword. Some say Sakura was supposed to be kidnapped instead of Satsuki, but Sakura evaded capture. This belief is consistent with the fact that all 12 dolls (and Cammy) were 16 at the time of SFA3.

6) Juni (June) is German and fights unarmed.

7) Juli (July) is also German and also fights unarmed. Despite the claims of some sources, Juni and Juli are not related (none of the Bison dolls are).

8) Santamu (August) is Vietnamese, but of African heritage. SANTAMU is the equivalent of Vietnamese's 8th month. However, the Vietnamese's spelling should be 'Thang Tam'. It's a compound word of 'month' & 'eight', obviously. She wields a spear and can also unleash a small monkey to attack for her.

9) Xiayu (September) is Chinese and wields the nunchaku.

10) Jianyu (October) is also Chinese and wields a staff.

11) Noembelu (November) is Mexican and is a member of T. Hawk's tribe (thus T. Hawk was looking for her and not Juli as the story implied). She wields a pair of hatchets on ropes.

12) Decapre (December) is Russian and her appearance is similar to that of Cammy.

Cammy had tried to save the Bison dolls in her SFA3 ending because, due to the extent of their brainwashing, they would have died with Bison otherwise. It is said that the inspiration of the Bison dolls was Yuka Minakawa's novels named collectively as 'Cammy History'. Before the fight, Cammy throws a red coat, this comes from "Street Fighter 2" the Animated Movie.

Various characters of the game make a cameo in a marvel comic-book of Deadpool, the Merc with a mouth, vol.1 number 8. They appear in the shadows like mercenaries of the infernal house, the place where Deadpool obtains his merc jobs. We can recognize Adon, Dhalsim and Akuma as shadows, Sagat appears drawn and coloured. There are two more fighters, one appears to be Cammy. The artist of this Deadpool issue is Ed McGuiness.

In number 27 of Deadpool's comic, the author Joe Kelly, makes a homage to the Street Fighter series. In this comic Deadpool does a "Shoryuken" to Kitty Pride to make Wolverine attack him.

Suleputer released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Street Fighter Zero 3 Original Soundtrack - CPCA-1012, 1013) on 21/09/1998.

An upgraded version of "Street Fighter Alpha 3" appeared in the US for Sony PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast (see Ports below). This upgrade was released in arcades exclusively in Japan under the title "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper" in 2001. Previously hidden characters Balrog, Juni and Juli are playable from the start. In addition past Street Fighter legends Guile, Dee Jay, Fei Long and T. Hawk are now playable as well. This brings the total count to 34 playable characters!

An even further upgraded version of "Street Fighter Alpha 3", called "Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max" (known in Japan as "Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper") appeared for the Sony PlayStation Portable (again, see Ports below) in 2006, and adds Eagle (from the original "Street Fighter"), Yun (from "Street Fighter III"), Maki (from the Super NES Final Fight 2) and newcomer Ingrid. This now brings the total count of playable characters to 38!

Bam Margera of MTV's 'Jackass' and 'Viva La Bam' has owned this game before in his house. In the episode of 'Viva La Bam' called "Uncivil War", one of the arcade cabinets in Bam's laundry room running "Street Fighter Alpha 3" can be briefly shown for a second.

- UPDATES -

Here is the list of all versions known as "Street Fighter Alpha 3" :

980629

* US, BRAZIL, and HISPANIC releases.

980904

* US, EUROPE and HISPANIC releases.

ADDITIONAL NOTES :

The US version has the "Recycle It, Don't Trash It!" screen.

The early revision (06/98) had two bugs involving Karin : First, she could do her Kanzuki-ryuu Kou'ou Ken super in X-ISM (which she shouldn't be able to do, as it was her second super). Second, Karin's normal throw in Mazi Mode could do 99% damage.

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

* Title Color Chart : The color of the title screen denotes what secrets are currently available. After a few weeks of play, the title screen will change color, so in a few months after your SFA3 machine has been installed, it should reach the final color (light blue). The explanation of the colors is shown below :

Cream - (default color)

Green - Classical Mode

Red - Balrog, Juni and Juli become playable

Dark Blue - Mazi Mode

Purple - Saikyou Mode

Light Blue - Can select one of the three Battle Modes

* Random Select : The Random Select squares are normally invisible. But, there are two for the first player and two for the second. The 1P squares are located in the upper-right corner of the diamond and the lower-right. The 2P squares are in the upper-left corner and the lower-left corners.

* Hidden Characters : The three hidden charactes are Balrog, the boxer and Juni and Juli, two prototype 'dolls' created by Bison's Shadowloo organization. Once the game's title screen has become the proper color (see 'Title Color Chart', above), their score listing will show up in the High Score listing and they become playable...

1) To choose Balrog, pause on Karin for five seconds, then move to any Random Select square, hold the Start button and press any button.

2) To use Juli, pause on Karin for five seconds, then move to any Random Select square. If the square is on the left side of the screen, choose her by holding Left and pressing any button. If the square is on the right side, then hold Right and press any button instead.

3) To use Juni, pause on Karin for five seconds, then move to any Random Select square. If the square is on the top of the screen, choose her by holding Up and pressing any button. If the square is on the bottom, then hold Down and press any button instead.

* Hidden Modes Of Play : There are three secret modes that affect basic gameplay. Once the game's title screen has become the proper color (see 'Title Color Chart', above), you can select a hidden mode to use...

1) To use Classical Mode, insert your coin, hold down HP+HK and press Start. You can release HP+HK once you're at the Player Select Screen. Then, pick your character. When you start the round your super power bar will be gone and you will have Street Fighter 2 moves.

2) To use Mazi Mode, insert your coin, hold down MP+MK and press Start. You can release HP+HK once you're at the Player Select Screen. Then, pick your character.

3) To use Saikyou Mode, insert your coin, hold down LP+LK and press Start. You can release HP+HK once you're at the Player Select Screen. Then, pick your character.

* Hidden Battle Mode : Once the game's title screen has become the proper color (see 'Title Color Chart', above), you can select a hidden battle mode...

1) Final battle mode : After picking your ISM, hold Start+LP+MK+HP. You'll fight Final Bison for one battle only. It's just like the last battle; win and you get your ending, lose and you get the bad ending.

2) Dramatic battle mode : Hold LK+MK+HK, then press Start. Keep holding those buttons at Player Select Screen for a moment. You'll fight a 2 on 1 battle for 6 rounds, in which you face two CPU-controlled opponents.

* Secret Messages (this trick only works on Japanese SFZ3 machines) : After winning a battle, press and hold Start as well as any other button. Between battles, a message will appear on the screen, depending on the button you're holding.

* Sari In Every Stage : In Dhalsim's stage you may have noticed a girl who cheers for him. That is Sari, his wife. When you play as Dhalsim, its possible to make her appear on every fight by holding down LP+HK before the fight starts (you must do this at the beginning of every round).

* Alternate Sodom BGM : When fighting against Sodom (VS or CPU, you'll get to hear a different tune if it is on X-ism mode. Apparently the tune is inspired on his boss tune in "Final Fight".

The Sony PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast ports are called "Street Fighter Alpha 3", but they are actually console releases of what would later appear in arcades exclusively in Japan under the title "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper".

The Game Boy Advance ports add Eagle, Maki, and Yun to the PlayStation/Dreamcast roster, and allows to play with all the bosses.

The Sony PSP ports, called "Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX", add Ingrid to the Game Boy Advance roster, as well as new game modes such as Variable Battle Mode.

For further details, please see the "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper" entry.

- 30th January 2011: Smitdogg - I will firstly go ahead and announce a few things on the way since some are coming from Mexico and will take another 3 weeks or so to arrive. I have a rare version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the way.